Jay Rosser, vice president of public affairs for BP Capital and a spokesman for the Pickens family, confirmed the death to ABC News.

“Ty’s loss at such a young age is an unspeakable family tragedy for the entire Pickens family and his many friends,” Rosser’s prepared statement said. “We mourn his passing and respectfully request that the family be allowed to grieve in private in this time of sorrow.”

Police in Fort Worth, Texas, responded to a call of a deceased person a few miles from the campus of Texas Christian University, where Pickens IV was a junior, at mid-morning Tuesday, ABC affiliate WFAA reported. Pickens was rushed to the hospital at that point by a friend, neighbors at the apartment complex where police arrived told WFAA.

The medical examiner has yet to announce cause of death.

Texas Christian University released a statement acknowledging Pickens’ death on Tuesday.

T. Boone Pickens founded Mesa Petroleum in 1956, and made a fortune throughout the 1980s in oil drilling and with high-profile deal making. He now chairs the hedge fund BP Capital Management, and is listed as the 360th richest person in America by Forbes magazine.